Kerala State Self Employment Scheme for the Registered Unemployed KESRU
A bank loan of up to ₹1 lakh, with 20% paid back as a government subsidy, for people registered at an employment exchange who want to start their own small venture.
Last updated on
- Cost to apply
- Free
- Status
- Open
- Run by
- National Employment Service (Kerala), Department of Labour and Skills, through the employment exchanges
What you get
- Bank loan up to ₹1 lakh
- Subsidy of 20% of the loan, paid through the Employment Department
- No own contribution is needed and the guarantor can be the spouse or a parent
Who can apply
- New businesses, or people about to start one.
- Nano enterprises.
- Age 21 to 50.
- The most on offer is ₹1 lakh.
- Registered at an employment exchange in Kerala and unemployed
- Aged 21 to 50
- Literate
- Students are not eligible
- Annual family income up to ₹1 lakh, per the 2022 Industries Department booklet
- Beneficiaries stop getting the unemployment allowance and are not sent for temporary vacancies, but stay on the register for regular jobs
How to apply
- Submit the KESRU application form at your employment exchange
- The exchange checks it and sends it to the District Employment Exchange
- A district committee chaired by the District Panchayat President approves it
- A bank or financial institution sanctions the loan
- The District Employment Officer sanctions the subsidy
In person, the employment exchange where you are registered
In Kerala, the employment exchange where you are registered, then a bank or co-operative bank for the loan
Figures you may see elsewhere
The Kannur district page, dated 2020, gives a family income limit of ₹40,000 and a personal monthly income under ₹500. The 2022 Industries Department booklet gives ₹1 lakh, used here.
Worth knowing
Started in 1999. The Employment Department still listed it in 2026.
Where we found this
- District Employment Exchange, Kannur district website, last updated 14 February 2020 (external site) Official
- Strategy for formation of 1 lakh enterprises in 2022, Booklet 3, popular subsidy schemes, Directorate of Industries and Commerce (external site) Official
- KESRU, Employment Department (external site) Official
- KESRU, IndiaFilings (external site) Other source
An independent guide by The Company of Four, not a government website. Schemes change often, so check every detail on the official website before you apply. Links marked ↗ open external websites that we do not run, and we are not responsible for their content. Seen something out of date? Tell us and we will look into it.